Moths HAVE it tough. A lot of people don’t like them yet they are really just blander, hairier butterflies. So what’s with that? The poor Moths are treated as the anti-christ of the Lepidoptera world. They even have their own phobia – Mottephobia
There are many horror movies involving moths, yet ones containing butterflies are generally family documentaries - even 'Sex, Lies & Butterflies' is rated PG. People get tattoos of butterflies, but I’m yet to see a Venezuelan Poodle Moth on someone’s boob. Awww but look at it though, it's like a fucking angel.
SO LET'S break this down and see what the PHYSICAL differences are:
- It’s about the antenna – butterflies have smooth ones with a knob on the end; moths have feathered ones
- Moths are stout and fuzzy, like a mini Bob Hoskins; butterflies are more Audrey Hepburn-ish
- Often butterflies sport more vibrant colours than the earthy tones of moths
- Moths can have bigger blacker eyes due to their nocturnal habit.
Nothing startlingly different there - so let's look at... BEHAVIOR
Butterflies flit about during the day, by themselves, minding their own business; a moth will try and smash your window at night trying to get to your face, along with it's thousands of mates
Butterflies are associated with pretty flowers which are OUTSIDE; moths will fill up your light fixtures with corpses
Butterflies are brightly coloured and don't try to hide; moths wear camo gear so they can’t be seen, so must be up to no good. Some moths have evolved to look like less palatable insects, such as wasps, tarantulas and the praying mantis. A few even mimic bird droppings.
Here's a moth I photographed which I nicknamed the The MUMMY moth
Also -
There isn’t a Deaths Head Butterfly
Moths try and get into your ear
They fuck up my apples and feijoas
Butterflies don’t eat your clothes
The Indian Meal moths eat all the curry in your pantry and watch your Bollywood movies
OK moths do behave badly sometimes, but there is nothing particularly life threatening about them.
SO can I change your mottephobic minds? What are moths good for?
Pollinating plants and feeding birds, bats and even people around the globe. YES. PEOPLE. Let me present: Moths - The next superfood:
IN SOME parts of the world, moths are a major food source for people. More than 90 percent of people in some African countries eat moth and butterfly caterpillars, according to a 2004 survey by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Caterpillars are packed with protein and healthy fats, and research shows that 100 grams of these insects provides more than 100 percent of the daily requirement of some vital minerals, such as potassium, calcium, zinc and iron.
AND an adventurous Mr Taylor-Grant says of the Bogong moth in Canberra: "I've had them before, they're a bit nutty in flavour or a bit like charred pork fat. It's really high in fat and protein, so it's really quite a superfood"
ANOTHER entomophage says "I grew up in South Korea, where silkworms are sold as street food. I have tried, and it pops in your mouth like a yoghurt ball" Yoghurt ball? is that even a thing?
Yum
Without moths, there would be no silk. And where’s the fun in not being able to wash moth splatter from your motorbike helmet visor.
Moths travel further than bees to pollinate, so help prevent inbreeding. Yep. Apparently plants inbreeding is also a thing.
Then there's Art - the next time you're lucky enough to get an NZ$100 note, take a closer look. Tucked away next to Lord Rutherford and the Mohua is Aihuka (Declana egregia) the South Island zebra moth. Stunning.
Some caterpillars of moths have some pretty cool work stories.
Meet 'Harris' (Harrisimemna Trisignata) - this dude likes to imitate bird poop - but that's not the best part. See those projectiles? That's it's heads that it's saved from previous moults to use as ballistic missiles when feeling threatened
This one is so pretty Donald Trump stole his hairstyle, then there's the 'David Bain's Christmas Jersey' caterpillar
And you can’t beat them. Moths outnumber butterflies by more than 10 to 1
STILL not feeling the love? Let’s take another tack. Let me tell you some dark secrets about the innocent butterfly.
They eat mud, urine and poop, blood sweat and tears, and decaying flesh
Their offspring would be thrown out of baby contests
The zebra longwing butterfly is famously poisonous, and its caterpillars are cannibals that eat their siblings. And that’s nothing compared with its propensity for something called pupal rape. That's pupal, not pupil.
Butterflies get drunk on fermented sap and fight each other
There are butterfly parasites. The Maculinea rebeli butterflies trick ants into raising their young. The caterpillars make sounds that mimic queen ants, which pick them up and carry them into their colonies like the well-to-do being toted in sedan chairs. Inside, they are literally treated as royalty, with worker ants regurgitating meals to them and nurse ants occasionally sacrificing ant babies to feed them when food is scarce.
SO...in summary, butterflies:
Get drunk
Have bar fights
Eat decaying meat
Eat poos & wees
Drink sweat & tears
Parasitize
Rape
Have ugly babies
AND - both butterflies and moths are from the family of Lepidoptera - derived from the Greek words "lepido" for scale and "ptera" for wings, refers to the flattened hairs (scales) that cover the body and wings of most adults. YES. SCALES. LIKE. A. REPTILE. You may as well say that butterflies are SNAKES.
So if you don't like moths then you shouldn't like butterflies either, so stop discriminating
BRB